The dream of the 90's is alive in literature?
August 25, 2015 2:28 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for books that capture the feel, culturally, politically, and/or otherwise, of the 1990's in America. Can y'all help me out?
Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
posted by mermaidcafe at 2:40 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by mermaidcafe at 2:40 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Basically anything by Sarah Schulman—definitely Rat Bohemia.
Culturally also I'd say Jayne Anne Phillips.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 2:40 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Culturally also I'd say Jayne Anne Phillips.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 2:40 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Disclaimer: I wasn't in America in the 1990s, and I read all of these a long-ass time ago.
Westside: Young Men and Hip Hop in L.A by William Shaw
The Exes: A Novel by Pagan Kennedy
Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists
posted by Gin and Broadband at 2:43 PM on August 25, 2015
Westside: Young Men and Hip Hop in L.A by William Shaw
The Exes: A Novel by Pagan Kennedy
Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists
posted by Gin and Broadband at 2:43 PM on August 25, 2015
Ghost World, Daniel Clowes
posted by prewar lemonade at 2:46 PM on August 25, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by prewar lemonade at 2:46 PM on August 25, 2015 [9 favorites]
You didn't specify fiction (or narrative), so, Snaps.
Oh, and Primary Colors, because it was the political novel of the decade.
posted by General Malaise at 2:46 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh, and Primary Colors, because it was the political novel of the decade.
posted by General Malaise at 2:46 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
In 1996, Granta released its Best Young American Authors list:
Sherman Alexie
Madison Smartt Bell
Ethan Canin
Edwidge Danticat
Tom Drury
Tony Earley
Jeffrey Eugenides
Jonathan Franzen
David Guterson
David Haynes
Allen Kurzweil
Elizabeth McCracken
Lorrie Moore
Fay Myenne Ng
Robert O'Connor
Chris Offutt
Stewart O'Nan
Mona Simpson
Melanie Rae Thon
Kate Wheeler
Can't really go wrong this them.
posted by janey47 at 2:48 PM on August 25, 2015
Sherman Alexie
Madison Smartt Bell
Ethan Canin
Edwidge Danticat
Tom Drury
Tony Earley
Jeffrey Eugenides
Jonathan Franzen
David Guterson
David Haynes
Allen Kurzweil
Elizabeth McCracken
Lorrie Moore
Fay Myenne Ng
Robert O'Connor
Chris Offutt
Stewart O'Nan
Mona Simpson
Melanie Rae Thon
Kate Wheeler
Can't really go wrong this them.
posted by janey47 at 2:48 PM on August 25, 2015
Girl, by Blake Nelson
posted by Diablevert at 2:49 PM on August 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Diablevert at 2:49 PM on August 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve
The Happy Mutant Handbook
posted by homodachi at 2:56 PM on August 25, 2015 [6 favorites]
The Happy Mutant Handbook
posted by homodachi at 2:56 PM on August 25, 2015 [6 favorites]
It was published in the early 2000s, but A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggars mostly takes place in the 90s.
posted by prewar lemonade at 3:05 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by prewar lemonade at 3:05 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Losing in Gainsville by Brian Costello
"Set in the mid-1990s, the story captures in intimate detail the wilderness years experienced by many American males of a certain class, age and background. *** A rock-and-roll fable about the secret lives of the unsatisfied." —Kirkus Reviews
posted by MrJM at 3:09 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
"Set in the mid-1990s, the story captures in intimate detail the wilderness years experienced by many American males of a certain class, age and background. *** A rock-and-roll fable about the secret lives of the unsatisfied." —Kirkus Reviews
posted by MrJM at 3:09 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I came here to suggest Microserfs too! Probably lots of other stuff by Coupland as well.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 3:09 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Sebastian at 3:09 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh man, the Happy Mutant Handbook all the way. That's where I learned about Burning Man.
I suggest the collected Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics.
posted by Countess Elena at 3:15 PM on August 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
I suggest the collected Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics.
posted by Countess Elena at 3:15 PM on August 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Generation X by Coupland and Microserfs (also by Coupland).
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 3:46 PM on August 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 3:46 PM on August 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
Anything Douglas Coupland pre-JPod.
posted by TheCavorter at 4:06 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by TheCavorter at 4:06 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gas Mask by Jim Munroe is set in Toronto but took me right back to my life as a young alternative person/activist in the U.S.
posted by not that girl at 4:06 PM on August 25, 2015
posted by not that girl at 4:06 PM on August 25, 2015
K.A. Applegate's Animorphs (minus, hopefully, the alien invasion aspect).
posted by teremala at 4:32 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by teremala at 4:32 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
yes to "girl" - yes to "ghost world" - yes to "optic nerve"
"perks of being a wallflower" and a lot of the other early "mtv books"
posted by nadawi at 4:40 PM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
"perks of being a wallflower" and a lot of the other early "mtv books"
posted by nadawi at 4:40 PM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yes Rat Bohemia and weirdly even though it's about the future and published in early 2000s I think Oryx and Crake is about 90s anxieties.
posted by latkes at 4:47 PM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by latkes at 4:47 PM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
(Plus Atwood is way Canadian so maybe that suggestion was completely off base!)
posted by latkes at 4:49 PM on August 25, 2015
posted by latkes at 4:49 PM on August 25, 2015
No Logo - Naomi Klein
The Beauty Myth - Naomi Wolf
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 5:32 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Beauty Myth - Naomi Wolf
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 5:32 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
Strong Motion, Jonathan Franzen
Birds of America, Lorrie Moore
House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
And definitely Ghost World, Prozac Nation, and Douglas Coupland.
Camille Paglia's Sexual Personae came out in 1990 and was everywhere.
posted by betweenthebars at 6:15 PM on August 25, 2015
Strong Motion, Jonathan Franzen
Birds of America, Lorrie Moore
House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
And definitely Ghost World, Prozac Nation, and Douglas Coupland.
Camille Paglia's Sexual Personae came out in 1990 and was everywhere.
posted by betweenthebars at 6:15 PM on August 25, 2015
Body: A Novel by Harry S. Crews was published in 1992 and is delightfully grotesque Southern fiction. Not sure it's what you're looking for but it's a great read for sure!
posted by smorgasbord at 6:31 PM on August 25, 2015
posted by smorgasbord at 6:31 PM on August 25, 2015
Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music
Greg Prato
Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge
Mark Yarm
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:54 PM on August 25, 2015
Greg Prato
Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge
Mark Yarm
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:54 PM on August 25, 2015
Our Noise - Jeff Gomez (which name-drops so many bands it hurts but accurately captures life in a Southern college town).
posted by Kitteh at 9:54 AM on August 26, 2015
posted by Kitteh at 9:54 AM on August 26, 2015
It's a little specific to a subculture, but I think Lynn Breedlove's "Godspeed" really encapsulates late 90s/early 00s in San Francisco. With regard to subculture, it's heavily referential to dykes, the sex industry, and drugs.
posted by girlstyle at 12:49 AM on August 28, 2015
posted by girlstyle at 12:49 AM on August 28, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Redstart at 2:39 PM on August 25, 2015 [20 favorites]